wreck

Log This Dive

HMS Nottingham

Forget your tropical blue water wrecks, the HMS Nottingham gives you proper, gritty UK diving, and we absolutely love it for that. This isn't some pristine, untouched museum piece; it's a Birmingham-class light cruiser, sunk in 1913, and the North Sea has had its way with her. What’s left is a truly impressive, broken-up mass of steel that still holds the shape of a ship, making for some fascinating navigation. We’d suggest planning your dive for slack water, always, because the currents here can be a serious drag. Drop down, and you’re into a world of green and grey, but don’t let that fool you. The metalwork is completely encrusted with dead man's fingers and colourful anemones, a genuinely surprising splash of colour against the rusted steel. Look into the shadows of the twisted plates and you'll spot lobsters eyeing you from their hidey-holes, and if you’re lucky, a curious seal might even come for a closer look. Exploring the Nottingham feels like you’re peeling back layers of history, with each penetration into the larger sections revealing a bit more of her past, now home to armies of squat lobsters and crabs. It’s a dive that rewards slow exploration and a good torch, perfect for those who appreciate the atmospheric beauty of a cold-water wreck.